In strong-walled Uruk, in that storied ziggurat of fired brick, there entered the man of the wilderness, Enkidu, whose voice resounded and disturbed the court, "Gilgamesh, who is my friend and brother!" And that king of Uruk saw Enkidu and was joyful at this reunion. Enkidu struck out his hairy wildman's arm, which rippled with muscle, in challenge to Gilgamesh, as was their custom and Gilgamesh met his grasp. The very stones and bricks of Uruk quaked with the strength of them in this contest until at length Enkidu's might prevailed. "Has the ruling of this place with its idleness and many scribes and their chiseled tablets tempered you?" asked Enkidu of the bested Gilgamesh.